1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is the improvement of physical fitness in sport and exercise and the improvement of the state of health. The invention is intended to guide a sportsperson or an exercise enthusiast to a physiological target state defined prior to exercise, in a desired time, over a desired distance, or over a desired route. The invention can relate to applications relating to improving in fitness, health, and relating to weight management. More specifically, the invention relates to what is stated in the preamble to Claim 1. The invention also relates to a corresponding system.
In physical exercise, there is usually not only a physiological target state, but also a performance parameter, which is either the duration or distance of the exercise. Thus the exerciser makes, for example, a workout of 60 minutes, when the duration of the exercise has been fixed. Another usual form of physical exercise is a loop over a set distance. The exerciser will often have a familiar route, over which they run. In that case, the distance is fixed. However, the most important parameter is the physical training effect, which is determined on the basis of the cumulative physiological target state. The physiological state is calculated with the aid of a suitable physiological quantity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Previous attempts have been made to guide exercise by means of methods that are difficult for the user. Previously, methods have been based, for instance, on rigid intensity limits (heart-rate range), to which the exercise is guided. Thus, the heart-rate range is not altered to take into account deviations occurring during exercise (e.g., being above or below the heart-rate range for long periods of time). In addition, diverse, improvement-oriented training requires more complex decision criteria, which are affected by, for instance, the desired duration of training and the training intensity/training induced stress.
Particularly when guiding exercise towards a specific target value of a cumulative quantity, more comprehensive operation is demanded from the guidance system. A more comprehensive guide system is required, because, when predicting the value of a variable farther into the future, even a small change in intensity at the present moment, or in the slope of a cumulative variable will lead to a great change after 30 minutes, for example. This means that the intensity range, to which the target is guided, becomes very narrow. It is very difficult to train on the basis of the feedback based on such a narrow intensity range. By itself, the tolerance of the intensity range (for example, averaging in a selected time window) will not help to solve this problem.
Patent publication FI 115288 discloses a method, in which the heart rate is kept below a specific threshold during post-exercise cool down. The method is based, however, on defining only a specific heart-rate level and on guiding cooling down on the basis of this heart-rate level, and thus does not, in this aspect, differ essentially from other exercise guidance methods based on heart rate level. The patent in question describes a specific blood lactate level (physiological target state), after which the cooling down can be stopped. The system described lacks dynamic guidance relative to a predefined target time or target distance.
Patent application US2005/0026750 discloses a control system for a treadmill. The system is based on predefined speeds. The user is informed if they exceed or do not reach heart-rate limits. Final cool down can be stopped once the heart rate has dropped to the desired percentage of the maximum level. The application disclosed is based on rigid heart-rate limits, which does not take into account exercise that may differ from the guidance at the start of the exercise.
Patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,774 discloses a method, in which the resistance of an exercise device is controlled on the basis of a collected heart-rate signal and, for example, on cadence. The control is, however, based only on heart-rate limits, and deviations from the target intensity are not permitted.
Patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,044 discloses a device, utilizing heart rate, measuring energy consumption with the aid of a calculation algorithm, in which a target for the exercise can be set, and a method for monitoring the achievement of the exercise target. The target set for the person can be either the amount of energy consumed, or a reduction in weight. In the invention, in addition to the heart rate during the exercise, both the momentary and cumulative energy consumption and, the accumulated energy consumption during several exercises, the number of calories, which must still be consumed for the target to be achieved, are displayed, as well as the time required to achieve the target at the present intensity. Even though physiological targets (amount of energy consumed, or weight reduction) can be set in the invention, it differs from the system depicted in the present application, because publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,044 does not describe any sort of guidance method that guides the user to the target. In the invention, it is not even possible to set a target time or other corresponding criterion for the performance, on the basis of which it would be possible to guide the performance. In addition, basing the guidance of the exercise on the time taken to achieve the predicted target on the basis of the present intensity leads to a situation in which a small change in the present intensity will cause, when predicting farther into the future, a change in the cumulative physiological variable (or in any other variable whatever, for instance, in the distance), so that in practice it will be very difficult, if not impossible to guide the exercise towards the target on the basis of this feedback.
Firstbeat Technologies Oy's patent application US2006/0032315 Saalasti et el.) ‘METHOD FOR MONITORING ACCUMULATED BODY FATIGUE FOR DETERMINING RECOVERY DURING EXERCISE OR ACTIVITY’ discloses a method for calculating a stress index. The index can also be EPOC (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). The patent application does not, however, disclose a method for guiding a person to a physiological target.
Firstbeat Technologies Oy's patent application US2006/004266 ‘SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND PREDICTING PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE UNDER PHYSICAL EXERCISE’ discloses a system, whish predicts the time for achieving a target.
Patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,295 discloses a method, which seeks to provide feedback to someone performing exercise, which will assist the user in reaching a target that one has set, or in motivating him/her to continue exercise after having already reached a target.
If the user decides to carry out exercise with a specific temporal duration, this will also set a suitable (virtual) distance target for the exercise. The exercise terminates when the predefined temporal duration terminates. This combination of time and distance is such that the user can use it to estimate a suitable exercise heart rate. During the exercise, the speed required to achieve the distance target and the predicted result of the exercise (prediction of the distance travelled once the target time has ended) are displayed to the user. The user takes his/her pulse themselves and presses a button on the computer on every third heart beat. The computer can calculate the user's heart rate from this and displays it to the user. If the heart rate is not in the desired range, the user can select a more suitable time-distance pair in the next exercise session. During exercise, the user can compare, by himself/herself, his/her present speed with the target speed and the distance target from the predicted result (prediction of the distance travelled when the target time ends). In addition, according to the invention, the user can be shown whether the predicted result of the exercise is equal to, greater than, or less than the target distance. On the basis of these data, the user can aim at either the precise target, or even at exceeding it. Once the distance target has been reached, the user can use the predicted result to motivate oneself for the remaining time.
If the user decides to perform a workout, for which there is a (virtual) target distance, this will also set a suitable time target for the workout. The workout will end once the predefined distance has been travelled. The user estimates that by using this combination of distance and time he/she will achieve a suitable exercise heart rate. During the exercise, the user is shown the speed required to reach the time target and the predicted result of the workout (prediction of the final time once the target distance has been travelled). The user takes his/her own pulse and presses a button on the computer on every third heart beat. The computer can calculate the user's heart rate from this and display it to the user. In the next workout, the user can select a more suitable time-distance pair, if the heart rate is not in the desired range. During the workout, the user himself/herself can compare his/her present speed with the target speed and the time target from the predicted result (prediction to the final time once the target distance has been completed). In addition, according to the publication, the user can be shown whether the predicted result of the workout is equal to, greater than, or less than the target time. On the basis of these data, the user can aim at either the precise target time, or at less than it. If the target time is exceeded, the user can nevertheless aim at the best possible result, using the predicted final time as motivation.
Patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,295 does not, however, disclose the use of a cumulative physiological target state, nor is it even easy for the user to evaluate the physiological effect of the workout. The same time-distance pair can be performed using different intensity profiles, which achieve quite different physiological effects. According to the publication, impossible speeds are not recommended to the user, but the publication fails to depict any principle on the basis of which impossible target speeds can be excluded.
The whole time, the user must watch the numerical feedback given. In particular, aiming at a specific physiological state (heart-rate range) is left to be the responsibility of the user. Thus, the method disclosed in patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,295 does not solve the problem of how to provide the user with sensible feedback during exercise, which feedback would guide the user to a physiological target state within the framework of a target time or target distance/route. User-friendly guidance, such as would be suitable for exercise combining a target-distance/target time pair, is also not depicted. The principle of expansion (broadening) of the guidance range, which is a property essential for user-friendliness, is also entirely missing from the publication. In addition, patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,295 entirely lacks visual and auditive feedback, displayed and repeated to the user at a suitable frequency, even though it is essential for user friendliness.
Firstbeat Technologies Oy's patent application US2006/004265 ‘SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND PREDICTING PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE UNDER PHYSICAL EXERCISE’ discloses a system for monitoring a physiological state during exercise and predicting the physiological state at the end of a workout. The system disclosed in the application predicts the time taken to achieve the target, but does not guide the user to the target and gives the user no instructions as to how to act at a specific moment in a workout. The publication presents a cumulative quantity, which is suitable when monitoring the cumulative stress of physical exercise. For example, energy consumption by itself is a poorer indicator, because energy is consumed even without physical stress, and energy consumption is not directly connected to homeostatic changes taking place in the body.